Fruit-picker.



No. 769,722. PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904. J. H. WIDDIGOMBE. FRUIT PIGKER.

APPLICATION FILED SBPT.6, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

JIM

am 7% W No. 769,722. Patented September 13, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES HENRY IDDICOMBE, OF HAMILTON, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHSTO WVILLIS H. OOON, OF ROCHESTER, NElV YORK, AND GEORGE A. GRAHAM ANDCHAS. E. HOLLAND, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

FRUIT-PICKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,722, datedSeptember 13, 1904.

Application filed September 5,1903. Serial No. 172,169. LNo model.)

To all whom, it 'nmg concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES HENRY WVIDDI- whicl COMBE, a citizen of theDominion of Canada, Figure 1 is a side view of the picker A emresidingat the city of Hamilton, in the county bodying my invention. Fig. 2 isaside view of \Ventworth and Province of Ontario, Canof the top hood.Fig. 3 is a plan view of the 5 ada, have invented certain new and usefulIrnsame. Fig. t is a perspective view of the provements inFruit-Pickers; and I hereby dechute, frame, and ferrule. clare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and ex- In the drawings, .A, Fig. 1,represents a act description of the same. rod. preferably of bamboo canejointed to any The invention relates to a very handy and desired lengthand having the qualities of 55 convenient device for picking fruit suchas lightness and strength combined, which is apples, pears, oranges,lemons, &c.-from made to pass through the lower sliding ferrule theirtrees in a careful and expeditious man- B and into the upper ferrule C,to which it is ner without bruising the fruit. attached.

5 The device comprises a circularshaped D is the hood, formed of wireand covered 0 arched hood havingacentral horseshoe-shaped with rubbertubing D to protect the fruit form attached to the end of a rod, aferrule while being picked. It has two upward side made to slide on therod a short distance be curves (1 (a to comform to the rounded contourlow the hood, a spring connecting the ferrule of the fruit and a centralhorseshoe-shaped with the top portion of the rod, a frame atcurve 7),formed at a different angle to the side 5 tached to the sliding ferruleto carry a chute curves (1 a. The ends of the wire of the said toconduct the fruit to the pickers basket. hood 1) are secured to theferrule (J, and its On the upper end of the rod or pole is ataction inoperation will be more fully extached a wire hood covered with rubbertubplained hereinafter.

5 ing and formed in a peculiar manner with the To the lower ferrule B issecured a wire 7 outer sides bent in an upward curve to inclose hoop E,to which a funnel-mouthed chute F the fruit and a smaller central doubleinner is attached in any convenient manner. This horseshoe-shaped curveat a different angle to chute may be of any desired and preferably thelarger one, the two ends of the hood belight woven fabric, such as thincotton or 3 ing securely fastened to a ferrule, into which cheese-cloth,and may be of any length dc- 75 is inserted the top end of the rod tocarry it. sired to suit the length of the pole. As the About eightinches downward from the top pole A may be in jointed sections, so theof the rod is a ferrule made to slide on the chute may be made insections and hooked torod or pole and held to the upper ferrule bygether to increase the length accordingto the a spiral spring, the topand bottom ends of height of the trees from which the fruit is be- 80which are secured to the upper and lower fering picked. A spiral spring(Z is attached at rule, and attached to the latter is a wire hoop eachend, respectively, to the upper ferrule or ring and a chute formed ofany light fab- O and to the lower sliding ferrule B, which ric, as thincotton or cheese-cloth, attached carries the chute, so as to save itsframeE from 4 to the ring and made funnel-shaped at the being strainedif it comes in contact with a 5 mouth, the chute extending to anydesired branch while the fruit is being picked.

illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in

length to receive the fruit into any receptacle The practical operationof the device may attached to the person of the picker or otherbedescribed as follows: The operator has a wise. specially-formed bag(which is the subject- I attain these objects by the mechanism matter ofa separate patent) in which the 9 mouth of the bag-frame conforms to thecontour of the trunk of the operators body and is held by a strap overthe shoulder, which When in place on his person he proceeds to join thepole to the required length to reach the fruit. He places the lower endof the chute F in his bag and raises the pole to the fruit in such amanner that the stem of the fruit enters the month of the central curvea of the hood D and the spherical form of the fruit being inclosed bythe conforming upward side curves (0 a of the said hood. He then givesthe hood a slight twist, which easily disconnects the fruit from thestem, which drops down in thechute and is conveyed thereby to hisreceiving-bag, and he so proceeds until the bag is full, which may beemptied into any receiving-barrel or the equivalent thereof. The fruitbeing thus picked without being torn, out, or bruised is in a bettershape for keeping and shipping qualities.

Having thus described my device and its advantages, what 1 claim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A fruit picker consisting of a circularshaped hood made to conform tothe general spherical form of the fruit, a horseshoe-shaped curve in thecentral part to receive the stem of the fruit, in combination with a rodor pole, a ferrule constructed to slide on the rod a short distancebelow the hood, a ring attached to the sliding ferrule to carry a chuteof fabric material, a spiral spring made to connect the ferrule with thehood or upper part of the rod, all constructed substantially 35 as andfor the purpose specified.

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, May 30, 1903.

JAMES HENRY WIDDIGOMBE.

In presence of- HIRAM BARKER, Wu. BRUcE.

